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TES: The largest network of teachers in the world
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Title
Strike Out
Broad Question
Does the weight of an object have affect on the distance it will travel?
Specific Question
Does the mass of three different balls; a baseball, a softball, and a wiffle ball, affect the distance they will travel when hit with a baseball bat?
Hypothesis
It is hypothesized that the object with the more mass will go further in distance, than the object with the less mass. This is hypothesized because, from the research that was found, more weight creates more acceleration.
Graph of Hypothesis
Variables
Independent Variable:
Types of balls
Dependent Variable:
Distances each ball travels
Variables That Need To Be Controlled:
Batter
Destination in which the experiment will take place
Bat
Batting Stance (position)
Tee
Type of day (wind, sun, etc.)
Measuring Tape
Scale
Swing Style/ Batting Method
Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
Mass- A measure of how much matter is in an object
Distance- Amount of space between two things
Length- Measurement of something from one end to the other
General Plan
A softball, a baseball and a wiffle ball, will be used to determine if mass of a ball affects the distance it will travel after being hit off a tee. A baseball tee will be set up on a level piece of ground. The subject will hit each ball off the tee ten times and the distance the ball traveled will be measured. The mean distance traveled for each ball will be calculated. This experiment will be controlled by using the same batter, batter stance, and by making sure the tee is lined up at the same height each time. If the weather is not conducive for this experiment, it can be postponed until it is a clear, non-windy day.
Safety Or Environmental Concerns
The batter in which will be hitting, should have a batting helmet in his/her possession. The ball could potentially fly in the air, and hit your head.
Experimental Design
(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)
Resources and Budget Table
Softball bat (31”/22oz.) Available at Walmart for $34.86 (Owned)
Softball (Worth 4-pack of 12”) Available at Walmart for $11.97/ or 1= $4.75 at sporting goods store (Owned)
Baseball (Rawlings 12-Pack of 9-91/2”) Available at Walmart for $19.97/ or 1=$3-5 at sporting goods store (Olympia Sports) (Owned)
Wiffle ball (Rawlings 5”/12 pack) Available at Walmart for $5.79 (Owned)
Tee (Rawlings 3’) Available at Walmart for $21.97
Scale (Measures Grams) (Science Room)
Measuring Tape (50>Meters) Available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc./ $25.00 (Science Room)
Field (Jimi Emery’s Driveway)
Batter (Colby)
*Helmet (Rawlings low profile batting helmet) Available at Walmart for $26.97 (Owned)
*Batting gloves (Rawlings 335 series batting gloves) Available at Walmart $12.86 (Owned)
*Cleats (Depending on size, prices vary anywhere from 10-100 dollars regularly.) (Owned)
Notebook/Pencil (Personal)
*Video Camera/ Camera (Owned)
Data Table
Type of ball
Distance traveled (meters)
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Trial 4
Trial 5
Trial 6
Trial 7
Trial 8
Trial 9
Trial 10
Mean (Distance)
Softball
Baseball
Wiffle ball
Timeline:
Complete design and collection of all materials (JBES)- March 9, 2012
Run a test of the set up, not collecting data, just seeing if everything works- March 10, 2012
Run first official trials of experiment, collect first data (JBES) March 10, 2012
Complete all trials of experiment and all data collection (home) -March 17, 2012
Complete all data analysis; mean, median, range, graphs (home) March 23, 2012
Complete results and conclusions write up (home)- March 25, 2012
Complete project display board- April 27, 2012
Background Research
From the research that was collected, I was put under the impression that the object with the most mass would travel the farthest. In our experiment, the object with the most weight would have been the softball. The baseball would then travel the second furthest; and the wiffle ball would travel the least furthest. This is because of the mass.
This data didn't concur with mine, so I researched further. In Isaac Newton's second law of motion, he states, "The change in velocity (acceleration) with which an object moves is directly proportional to the magnitude of the force applied to the object and inversely proportional to the mass of the object". This means Force equals mass times acceleration. In our experiment the force would be the bat power, the mass would simply be the mass still, and the acceleration would be how fast the ball travels from 0>50 mph. For example, if the force used to hit a wiffle ball is 20N; the mass of the wiffle ball is 1, so the equation would be: 20N=1*20. Now, the force used to hit a baseball is also 20N; the mass of the baseball is 5, so the equation would be: 20=5*4. Lastly, the force used to hit a cannon ball is once again 20N; the mass of the cannon ball is 200; so the equation would be: 20N=200*.10. Overall, the wiffle ball traveled the farthest; again, this is due to the mass.
References
__http://www.ehow.com/list_5793728_science-mass-distance-ball-travels.html__
Mr Yahna
__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq0lnMZiuvs__
__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYz_K3mwq6A&feature=related__
Detailed Procedure
Recording should be done by using the Blank Data Table above. Read over procedure in advance before beginning the experiment.
Gather all materials above in the materials section. (Resources and Budget Table)
Find the mass of the three balls (softball, baseball, wiffle Ball) by using a scale. (grams) Record this in a notebook.
Before beginning experiment, make certain that the top of the tee shares the same height as the batters belly button.
Find a level spot on the driveway, where the experiment will take place. Place the softball on the tee. Make sure the softball is steady before beginning experiment.
The batter now needs to get in the proper batting position; follow steps below.
The batter will need to stand behind the tee with the ball on it, so that they are capable of hitting the ball forward.
Hold the softball bat so that the bottom of the bat lines up with the batters belly button (1/2 foot away). Align your front foot with the back of the tee, approximately one foot away.
Holding the bat horizontally, the batter needs to move their body at 90 degree angle back, before stopping, the batter should now move their body forward at another180 degree angle, hitting the softball with the softball bat.
After the ball has landed, the next step is to measure the distance that the ball has landed at.
Starting at the tee, carry the measuring tape until it has reached the destination in which the softball has landed at.
Make sure the measuring that you have done is as accurate as possible by having your partner double check it. This should be determined and recorded by using feet.
Record this under the first trial space in "Distances Traveled" column.
Follow steps 6-12 nine more times with the same ball and force applied to the swing.
Record data from all ten trials under the softball's "Distances Traveled" column. This should be determined using feet. All data collected for the baseball will go under the baseball's "Distances Traveled" column, and the same with the wiffle ball. Make sure all of the data falls under the correct trial column. (example: first hit, first trial; second hit, second trial, etc.)
Repeat steps 6-14 with the baseball, and the wiffle ball.
After all ten trials are completed with each of the balls, the experimenter must find the mean of the data for each of the balls.
Record the mean of each ball under the correct "Mean" column for each of the balls. This should be determined and recorded by using feet.
Convert all of your data into meters.
Clean up the remainders of the experiment, returning anything that was borrowed. Collect all personal belongings.
Keep notebook with results.
Photo List
Batting Stance
*Height of bat/tee video/picture(s)
Degrees turned video
*Video of the rate and pressure she is hitting the ball of the tee at, explaining the process of the batting stance
*Video showing each ball in the air, which one is given more height when in air (air resistance/ friction affecting the experiment)
Video showing the landing of the ball(if they bounce)
*Image of the inside of a wiffle ball
*Image of the inside of a softball
*Image of the inside of a baseball
* Optional (For experiment)
Results
All Raw Data
This is showing the proper batting stance
This is showing where the ball lands
Graphs
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Written Results
The results of the softball distances were measured in meters. The results using the softball were: 5.38, 4.88, 3.38, 5.29, 5.84, 5.77, 5.33, 4.50, 4.42, 4.48, and that average was: 4.93. The results of the baseball were: 3.59, 4.98, 3.99, 3.51, 4.88, 3.38, 6.45, 6.48, 4.50, 5.31, and the average was: 4.71. The results of the wiffle ball were: 6.86, 6.50, 7.24, 4.50, 4.57, 5.31, 6.48, 4.80, 5.06, and the average was: 5.62.
Photos
Above is the wiffle ball that was used during this experiment
Above is the baseball that was used during this experiment
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Above is the softball that was used during this experiment
Bat and tee that were used during this experiment
Data Analysis
Conclusion
During this experiment the goal was to see if the mass of a ball had an affect on the distance it traveled. We chose to use a baseball, a softball, and a wiffle ball for this experiment because they all have a very different mass. The wiffle ball’s mass was 12.9 grams, the baseball’s mass was 143 grams, and the softball’s mass was 192.8 grams. When the three balls were hit, it was observed that the wiffle ball traveled the farthest. The average of the softball’s data was; 4.927 meters, the average of the baseballs data was; 4.707 meters; and the average of the wiffle balls data was; 5.617 meters. It was discovered that the mass of a ball does affect the distance it travels.
Discussion
An experiment was conducted to determine if the mass of a ball affected the distance it traveled. The mass of a ball does affect the distance it will travel. The experiment started by hitting three different balls, a softball, a baseball, and a wiffle ball off from a baseball tee. The wiffle ball increasingly gained more air than the baseball, and especially the softball. The twenty trials with the baseball and the softball averaged four meters. With the wiffle ball, the average distance was five meters. The hypothesis was not supported by the results. The hypothesis stated that the softball would land the farthest away from the baseball tee, and the wiffle ball would be the closest to the baseball tee.
If the experiment were to be changed to measure the distance between the baseball tee, and where the ball rolled to, the softball would have had the highest average. When the wiffle ball was hit off from the tee, it drifted toward the ground in a slow manner. This is due to the holes in the wiffle ball, in which caught friction. If air resistance didn’t play a role in this experiment than the wiffle ball would drift for a longer time without reaching the ground. The resistance eventually flowed throughout the ball, bringing it toward the ground. The baseball and softball are much heavier, causing less time in the air, which then causes a smaller dependent variable. These balls also don’t have any holes, as the wiffle ball does. When the baseball was hit, the average from all ten of the trials was: 4.707. When the softball was hit, the average from all ten of the trials was: 4.927. When the wiffle ball was hit, the average from all ten of the trials was: 5.617. All three of the balls, shared results ranging from 3-6 meters. The pattern from the trials showed that the wiffle ball took the lead from the beginning of the experiment. The relationship between the independent, and dependent variable can be recognized without hesitation, as shown above.
There were a few complications when running the experiment. When hitting the wiffle ball, it broke in half. There were extras therefore the experimenters were able to complete the wiffle ball trials. A very crucial challenge arose when writing the design steps/procedure. When batting, how could the experiment be sure that the batter would repeatedly hit accurately? A very general batting stance was created making the trials more accurate. The batter stood roughly a foot away from the tee, the left foot was lined up to the back of the diamond of the tee. The bat was held at belly-button height a foot away. The batter would then turn 90 degrees to the right, and 180 degrees to the left. This was repeated each time the batter had to hit each ball.
As mentioned above, the distances the balls traveled were measured at the point where the balls had originally landed. The original plan was to measure the distance between the tee, and where the ball had rolled to. It was decided that landed at was going to be more accurate than rolled to. The experiment was not changed at all during the trials.
Something that could have been done to improve the experiment would be purchasing and/or borrowing a tool, in which pitches the ball towards the ground. This would have improved the experiments accuracy much more than the tee. During this experiment we used measuring materials, such as calculators, and scales. We needed to know the weight of all three of the balls, in order to finalize and answer the experiment question. A camera and a video recorder were also used to explain the experiment process more clearly by using visuals.
The knowledge gained throughout this experiment will not have a large impact on society, but it could potentially have an impact on athletes. This could help people who have good arms, and wish to take advantage of their talent. They could use the softball, if they wanted to throw hard ground balls, or they could use the baseball, if they wanted to throw hard air balls. A wiffle ball is used more for beginners.
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to determine if the mass of a ball effects the distance it travels. It was hypothesized that out of the three balls, the one with the most mass will travel the farthest. Trials were conducted and the results showed that the wiffle ball traveled the furthest, baseball second furthest, and softball least furthest.
During this experiment the goal was to see if the mass of a ball had an affect on the distance it traveled. We chose to use a baseball, a softball, and a wiffle ball for this experiment because they all have a very different mass. The wiffle ball’s mass was 12.9 grams, the baseball’s mass was 143 grams, and the softball’s mass was 192.8 grams. When the three balls were hit, it was observed that the wiffle ball traveled the farthest. The average of the softball’s data was; 4.927 meters, the average of the baseballs data was; 4.707 meters; and the average of the wiffle balls data was; 5.617 meters. It was discovered that the mass of a ball does affect the distance it travels.
The results were shocking, and had not supported the original hypothesis, but were opposite. It was originally hypothesized that the softball would travel the furthest due to the mass. These results had really caught my interest.